


The soul of a Lee

by MagiaMyst



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alexander's nickname is Hamtaro HUSH!, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bipolar Disorder, Charles needs love not hate, Charles-centric, F/M, Fuckthisismyfirstfanfic, Hercules the brother, Love the gay bois, M/M, Soulmates, Theodosia takes no bad language, smut in later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-02-18 06:32:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13094421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagiaMyst/pseuds/MagiaMyst
Summary: Charles Lee was a grumpy soul just looking for his way in life. A military record that he wished he had and a list of people he did not get along with left him sore to finding his soulmate. But, that did not mean it would be impossible to find that person that was meant to be his one and only.





	1. Prologue - Lee's Life

_**This is the first expansion in what I hope is a long reign of Charles Lee centric fics. This is the first fic I've made, so I hope you guys like it!** _

 

 

At a young age, a boy named Charles Lee was going through troubles with his family. His parents were getting a divorce. It was a hard on the young Lee, and all he could think about was that it was his fault. The school bullies had gotten wind of this and tormented him relentlessly. For a whole year he was bullied about this, and slowly pulled in on himself, crying to his parents and asking if it was his fault. Of course, they brushed him off and sent him to therapy, trying to make sure that the boy did not end up with a fucked up life.

 

Soon enough, Charles learned about the things called soulmates and how they could writing on their arm and then people would have the writing appear on their arms from the soulmates. So, the six year old tried that. He wrote on his arm in messy writing, and soon enough got writing back. It was simple words of just ‘HEllo My NAmE Is CHArlIE’ with the response of “Hello Charlie! Im John!” His soulmate had better writing than him, and he felt a little odd about that. But the two kept writing to each other. They wrote about everything, and soon enough Charles learned that John was from America. Amazing! Charles himself was from England.

 

About two years after the divorce, custody on Charles was finalized. He was to be shared between his parents, no matter where they lived. Which lied to his mother moving to America and Charles being tutored instead of being schooled like the other children. During the whole thing, he wrote to his John. He had found out that John was the same age as him, but John went to private schools, while Charles was struggling with public school he was in. It was full of bullies that distracted him, and friends that teased him. Though, with home schooling, he could leave the bullies behind. Or so he thought.

 

The home tutored was a live in teacher that moved in to teach Charles everything the boy needed to learn. Math, science, reading, writing, everything. Even things about soulmates. Though, when Charles moved to America to spend the month there with his mother, the tutor went with him.

 

Life was a little rough like that. One month at his mother’s, one month at his father’s. Always moving between the two. He felt like a yo-yo and rather unloved. His parents did not show him that everything was okay like this. Instead, when he felt sad they would send him to therapy. They did not take his feelings into consideration, just thinking that a little therapy would help. These were things he would talk to his soulmate about. Which, John left a question that burned in Charles’s mind. ‘Do you think your parents don’t love you?’ Yes. He truly believed that. He had a nanny for each house and a guardian that flew with him between both countries. But what he was lacking was support and attention from his parents.

 

Slowly, Charles began to hate people, but he never acted up. Acting up would lead to him being sent to another therapist or one of his parents going to therapy with him to discuss his new behavior. Last time that happened his father was accused of neglect and took Charles from that therapist to a different one. It was hard for someone so young, and it certainly took a toll. By the age of thirteen, he was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder and unspecified anxiety. That was not something a parent wanted to hear. But, it did start his collection of dogs.

 

Dogs were something that Charles had a fondness for before the animals were brought into his life. He had always wanted one, and when he got one it was like a sign that he needed to have more To bring them into his life and protect them. All of them. And that is what he started doing. And it was also around that time that his soulmate started sending him drawings, which he would try to send back, but the only thing he was able to draw were dogs. They looked cute anyway.

 

A few years later, around the age of seventeen, Charles lost his father to a car accident. He was in that same accident and was left in the hospital for about a week. It was a hard time for him, and his first dog stayed with him the whole time. He was then moved to New York City with his mother, to live there until he could move out. Which is exactly what he did. Though, with moving to New York, it meant he got to go to an actual school, where he meet a group of people known as the revolutionary set. Who seemed to take him in as their own. Until Senior year, where he insulted a teacher and got beat up by John Laurens, the gayest man in the whole set.

 

It left him sore to the group and he left them, never looking back. What Charles did after high school was go into the army, or at least try to. They would not accept him with his mental disability, which made him pissed. Something he complained about to his soulmate. That was something he seemed to have been doing a lot lately. Complaining. He could not keep a job because of his temper, he could not was finding it hard to keep himself fed, because he hated going outside, keeping therapy appointments was hard, and he lived off his trust fund. What Charles wanted to do in life, was be a choreographer. He loved to dance.

 

But, that was just how Charles lived his life now a-days. Locked away in his brownstone, writing to his soulmate, and keeping his dogs fed. He had three of them now. A pomeranian named Spado(his favorite), a border collie named Stephon, and a shiba inu named Rua. They were his world, and each one was registered as an emotional support animal. He had trained them himself, something that seemed to stick, and something that got him his most recent job at a pet store as a dog trainer. It was great. Truly.

  
  
  


_**So, that is where the story of Charles Lee is left off. Tune in next time to find out more of his day to day life in the world of soulmates.** _


	2. Chapter 1 - A cafe surprise

_**Woo! Thank you everyone who has read this an commented. Thank you so much. I hope you all are enjoying it and I would just like to let you all know that I plan on writing at least one chapter a day. One to three chapters. Woo. Since I do nothing with my life, this will be fun. Here we go~** _

 

****

Christmas was near, snow was falling, and Charles was sitting in a little cafe, trying to get his schedule worked out. He had no work for the next two weeks due to Christmas and New Year, but all he heard were things of ‘Merry Christmas’, ‘Happy holidays’, and ‘I can’t wait for the new year!’ It was disgusting to listen to. Well, mostly because Charles had no one to celebrate the holidays with. He hated going to his mother’s for the holiday, and his sister, who was sixteen now, was just a kid. But, he figured he could send them something for Christmas. Something to give them a little cheer. Maybe even cheer up his lonely ass. The only things under his tree this year were things for his dogs. How sad. But that was how it was when a lot of people thought of you ass an asshole. A douchebag. A pathetic piece of ass that—

 

The sound of Spado barking pulled Charles from his thoughts and he looked down to to the black puff ball, smiling softly. “Thank you,” he whispered, before going back to looking at his empty schedule. Nothing. Two weeks of nothing. At least this meant two weeks of not going outside. But then again, his therapist wanted him to go outside. Something to breath life into the man and pull Charles out of the depressive slump he was in, for over a month now. Ever since the holiday spirit started, Charles had been feeling like shit.

 

This was so annoying to Charles. He was in a struggle of staying inside or going out to do something with his life. But, another problem with going outside? Snow. The snow was cold and his little Spado was too tiny for a life in snow. Stephon or Rua would probably go out with him for snow walks though. Rua loved the snow.

 

As Charles’s mind drifted off to the thoughts of what he mind do and which dog he would take on these activities, a tickling of his arms let him know that his soulmate was finally away. If there was one thing he learned, it was that his soulmate hated being awake in the morning. It was a thought that made him smile.

 

Pulling down his sleeve, Charles looked at the little drawing of a heart shaped clock, making him smile. He pulled out a blue highlighter, something he began to use after his last panic attack, which left his arm scarred from all the scratching he had done to message his soulmate with a pen. ‘Well, look who’s finally awake. Mornin’ love.’ And with that little message was a small drawing of spado.

 

‘Go to sleep’ his soulmate had wrote back, making Charles snort out a laugh right in public.

 

It was a sound that he did not mind much, because it was a sound that came from happiness. It seemed the only times he was happy was when he was either writing to his soulmate or playing with his dogs. But life was a dick like that. So Charles was stuck with what he was handed. Not that he was complaining much. Okay, that was a lie. He complained a lot about almost everything.

 

As he was about to write back, Charles heard the sound of someone walked over, and then the obnoxious voice of Alexander Hamilton. Of course he would hear that man’s voice. Why did he think he could escape high school.

 

“Charles Lee!? Is that you? Holy shit! I haven’t seen you since—” Alexander said, but was interrupted in mid-sentence.   
“Since John beat the bloody hell out of me. Yeah, I know,” Charles interjected, sounding rather sour.

“Well if you stayed in school then John could’ve apologized to you. Are you seriously still sore over that? It’s been four years.” Alexander sounded fairly sour himself. He hated being interrupted.

With a long sigh, Charles rubbed his face before speaking. “Of course I’m sore over that. You know how I hold grudges. Be—”   
“Yeah..”   
“—sides, it wasn’t my idea to be pulled out of school. One little fight and mum got scared.”

“Don’t you Prince of Bel Air me! John wanted to apologize though.”   
“He could have come to my house and done that,” Charles snapped, making Spado bark at him.

Alexander shook his head before speaking. “Not like you gave us an address. I think you need to take a xanax.”   
That made Charles’s eye twitch a little. “Well I think you need a laxative. Get that stick outta your ass.”   
“Maybe you need some viagra to help you get laid.”   
“You’ll need some vicodin when I get done with you.”

 

That had Alexander laughing. This was something they had done in high school. Argue about what medications the other needed until one person laughed. Usually it was always him left laughing. Though, with the small ruckus the two were causing, they gained the attention of a pregnant looking woman. She walked over and gave the two a pleasant smile.   
  
“Alex, is this a friend?” The woman asked, one hand on her rather swollen stomach, the other on her back.

 

Alexander seemed to perk up as he stepped over to the pregnant woman, before turning to Charles to introduce the two.   
  
“Charles, this is my wife and soulmate, Elizabeth. Betsy, this is a friend from high school, Charles Lee.” There was a large happy grin on Alexander’s face as his hand rested on Elizabeth’s stomach.

“Hello, Charles, it’s nice to meet you.” Elizabeth said in a rather polite manner.

  
Charles was stunned. This woman was not only beautiful, but also super pregnant. What was this? Eight, nine months? She was so swollen!

 

“Hamtaro.. I don’t wanna alarm you… but your wife ate a planet,” was all Charles could get out.   
“Of course she ate a planet!” Alexander cheered after a bit of laughing. “My boy’s gonna be a star.” He sounded so proud.

Elizabeth on the other hand looked a little insulted, until Alexander started speaking. The polite smile was back and she spoke up. “Are you going to be joining us for the Christmas party tomorrow, Charles?”   
“I don’t—”   
“Of course he is.” Alexander interrupted the man, placing a hand on Charles’s shoulder. “He just needs a time and address. I can text those to him”

 

Charles was a little stunned, again. This time it was because he was being forced to go to a Christmas party he never signed up for. Well, that was better than what he had planned for tomorrow. Which was nothing. Then, with quick movements, Alexander wrote his cellphone information on a napkin and set it down next to Charles.   
  


“Bet you’ve never gotten a number so fast,” Alexander whispered with a playful wink.   
  
Charles simply shook his head and heaved out a sigh, feeling sorry for the poor pregnant woman with a flirtatious husband.

 

“We’ll see you tomorrow, Charles. Sorry to end your conversation short, but we really must be going,” Elizabeth said with a pleasant smile.

“Yeah! Checking to see how my little slugger is doing. I’ll get you a copy of the ultrasound so you can pretend you knocked someone up,” Alexander said, wiggling his brows. That earned him a smack on the shoulder, to which he let out a small “ow” to.

“Have a nice day,” Charles said as he watched the two walk out of the cafe with coffees in hand. Was a pregnant woman supposed to have coffee? Oh well.

 

The whole experience left a smile on Charles’s face and the first thing he did was add Alexander’s number to his phone, sending a little ‘bing’ as a text message. This was actually a pretty nice day, and he was glad he came to the cafe today, instead of staying at home and being a bum.

 

_**This was so much. Tune in next time for more adventures with Charles and the crew! Hope you guys enjoyed the preggers Elizabeth and Alexander's little Hamtaro nickname.~** _


	3. Chapter 2 - Clothes shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was so much fun to type out! And I just figured out how to use the notes. Woo, win win all around! Thank you everyone for enjoying this. I have so much fun typing this out and I hope you guys have fun reading it!

After that little meeting with Alexander, Charles had finished up his coffee and took Spado home. It was there that he wrote to his soulmate. A little hyper scribbling with a drawing of a reef. ‘I just got invited to a christmas party! What!?!’ He could not help but feel rather happy. It had been a long time since he had someone he could be friends with. Most people were just annoying twits.

 

‘That’s great! See, I told you life wasn’t going to kick your ass forever. Just hadda give it time’ his soulmate had written back.

‘Yeah, you did.’ Charles could not help the smile on his face as he looked at the words. He was just full of emotions he had not felt in such a long while. True happiness, belonging, acceptance. Those were things that Charles was certain he forgot about. He was certain that he would not belong anywhere. But now? Now he felt like he could be somewhere with people.

 

‘Do you have an outfit for this part?’ Were the worte that wrote themselves onto his arm. It was then that Charles realized he had no Christmas clothes. He rather disliked Christmas and was compared to the Grinch at times, but he was invited to a Christmas party. That meant Christmas clothes.

 

Dread filled the dark haired Brit as he took in the moment of panic, as a few moments of panic. Which led to his dogs rubbing against him and barking lightly to try and gain his attention away from the panic. It worked after a moment and he looked to his dogs.

 

“Okay, which of you wants to go shopping?” Charles asked the dogs, deciding he needed to get an outfit, and fast.

 

Each dog had barked out their argument, making the worried man smile. He could not help but to feel grateful for having such wonderful companions. They were truly his light and life. So, he looked between the dogs and decided to get Stephon geared up and give the other two treats. Of course he wanted to bring Spado, but he did not want to show favoritism to the dogs. They were like children to him, and he had to show them that each one was as important as the last.

 

With Stephon geared up and ready, Charles went out into the frigid cold of December noon. It was snowing a bit and the wind had picked up from the morning, so Charles was in a thick scarf and earmuffs. Not wanting to take a chance with the cold. Getting sick before tomorrow was not something Charles needed in his life at the moment. His immune system sucked enough as it was.

 

The walk to the nearest clothing store was a fairly short one, which made Charles rejoice a little. It was much better than worrying about walking all the way to the shopping district. The wind was fierce, threatening to lift Stephon from the ground and tear off Charles’s jacket. There was even a few growls from Charles as he fought the cold to get to the store. It was a terrible walk, but he made it.

 

Once at the store, Charles pulled the scarf from his face and let out a small sigh of relief. He would never be used to winter. It sucked no matter where he was. Far too much wind and snow. Like some sort of disease upon the world. Casting everything in white and making all things die in it’s fury.

 

Charles began his look around the store, trying to find what to wear. He had never been in this store before, but it looked pretty nice. Very fancy. Good thing he had the cash to spend here, otherwise he would be shit out of luck. Something had caught his eye, and Charles went to inspect it. It was a rather nice looking red and green plaid waistcoat. That could certainly be considered Christmasy enough.

 

“Holy shit. Charles Lee. I thought I’d never see you in my store,” a deep and familiar voice said from behind Charles.

 

Charles slowly turned around, spotting the person that the voice had come from. It was none other than Hercules Mulligan. The brother of everyone. Maybe even a mother hen at times. There was a small smile on Charles’s face as he stared up at the burly man.

 

“This is your store? Well, if I knew that I woulda never come here,” Charles teased with a playful glint in his eyes.

“Well, I might have to kick you out then,” Hercules scoffed out, walking up to Charles. “What are you looking for?”   
“I was invited to Alexander’s Christmas party and I have no fucking Christmas clothes,” Charles admitted while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, you’ve come to the right place. I’ll have you looking so fine that everyone’ll want to go home with you.”   
“Please no.”

 

There was a small laugh from Hercules, as he looked to what Charles had been previously looking at.

 

“I have just the outfit to go with this. How about we get your measured and see if I can find everything in your size,” Hercules said, picking up the waistcoat so no one else came in and took it.

“I’m not stripping for you’re lonely ass.”   
“We both know I’m not lonely.” Hercules winked at Charles as he spoke.   
“Right.” It was then that Charles noticed the wedding band on Hercules’s finger.

 

Hercules and Lafayette had been the first ones to find their soulmates out of the revolutionary set. They found out in high school, and have been inseparable ever since. It was endearing, but disgusting. Charles could not help but feel rather jealous. All he wanted in life was to be happy and to know who the hell his soulmate was. What if he never met his soulmate? Well… then he would die alone. And he was honestly okay with that. Biting back his feelings, Charles focusing on the fact that he was getting help with an outfit, and ignored everything else.

 

“So, just come with me and we can get you fitted. We should catch up sometime. You just up and disappeared after that fight,” Hercules spoke up, pulling Charles from his thoughts and leading the man to the fitting room.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Mum took me out of school had had me home tutored again. But yeah, we should totally catch up sometime. I’m up for that.” As Charles spoke, he stepped onto the little pedestal for getting fitted, feeling like some sort of doll.

 

Hercules begun work on sizing Charles and getting clothes that would look nice. A green dress shirt, black slacks, some nice shoes, and even green and red striped suspenders. What made the burly man stop was the plaid. He held it up to Charles a few times to decide if plaid was the man’s style before putting it back and getting out a mostly red waistcoat that had trees on them. That screamed Christmas and went perfectly with the outfit. Though, it would only be able to be worn during one month of the year.

 

After all the running around the store, with Charles watching and trying to stay on the pedestal, Hercules brought Charles up to the front of buy everything. The Brit did not wait for a price, he just held out his credit card and bought everything that was picked out for him. The items were put in a bag and Hercules wrote something down on the receipt before handing it to Charles. When Charles looked at it he noticed two numbers with names. It was Hercules’s and Lafayette’s numbers. That made him smile and he gave a goodbye to the large man before stepping out into the cold, ready to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hercules is an awesome guys! Dressing Charles up like that.~ The Christmas Party is coming up soon! I won't be able to get another chapter out today because of a Christmas party of my own! OH-HO-HO!!!


	4. Chapter 3 - Lazy days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a bit late and a little rushed, but at least it got out before I went to sleep. Thank you everyone for sticking with me and I hope you are enjoying your holidays!

When Charles got home, he sat down, setting his clothing next to him. It was a tiring walk, due to the cold, and he just wanted to rest. So, he started kicking off his shoes and did the one thing he wanted, rest. Though, the bark of his faithful hound made him groan and sit up straight to remove the service vest from Stephon. With that off, the dog went off to enjoy the rest of the day around the house.

 

Taking a cue from the dogs, Charles got up and pulled off most of his clothes before going to his bedroom to turn on the television and spend the rest of the day curled up in bed with his dogs. They watched Mythbusters all day long, while listening to the wind batter the building. Good thing he lived in the bottom apartment of the brownstone. Less worry about window, and more comfort. It was like a little cave where he was, and he loved it.

 

When the day came to an end, Charles made dinner, his dogs always having food in their bowls, and ate in the kitchen. Once that was done, the Brit got ready for bed and slept the rest of the day, and the entire night, away. It was fairly peaceful sleeping with no worries about anything, until morning started rising and a nightmare set in. The nightmare was of the party and something going horribly wrong. Charles showed up and everyone was dead. A murderer was standing there, covered in blood with his back to Charles. But, when the murderer turned around, he found it to be himself. That made Charles wake up in panic.

 

The panic that had Charles waking had the dogs also waking. Waking and cuddling.They stayed as close to the frightened, panicking man as possible. He did not know dogs could be this close. It was almost as if they were one. Usually they were only as his legs of in his arms. Now they were on his lap, laying behind him, and across his legs. It made Charles feel grounded. Something he sorely needed.

 

About an hour after the nightmare, he finally got out of bed and let out a long sigh. The nightmare was something truly frightening. It had the man shaken to his core. So, to rid himself of the thoughts of the nightmare, and to clean up the sweat, CHarles took a shower. Which was rather warm, and most certainly comforting. He used one of his shower bombs, a relaxing one, which filled the air with a calming scent of lavender.

 

After the shower, Charles stood in the towel, staring at the clothes on the couch. He needed to get ready and check his phone for an address and time, but more importantly, what times was it?

 

Looking at a clock, he read the time of five forty-nine. This was far too early to be awake. So, he sat on the couch with just the towel around his waist, and turned on the television. Scrolling through the channels, Charles decided to stick to the History Channel, which was playing re-runs of Mysteries at the Museums. A truly great show. One that had the Brit’s attention until the sun rose.

 

With the rising sun, Charles got up and checked his phone, seeing not only a message from Alexander, but two. One had the time and address, the other had a picture of the ultrasound with the message of ‘You need to pay child support soon, I’m due to deliver next month.’ It was something that had the lonely man laughing. Him? Paying child support? Seriously? That was rich.

 

With a whole day to waste, and nothing to do for a long while, he decided to stay in the towel all day. Doing nothing. And that is exactly what he did. Until three o’clock hit, an hour until the party. That was when panic had set in. Who was going to be at the party? Would they all be okay with him being there? Sure, he had Alexander that wanted him there, and there was Hercules that seemed excited, but who else was going? Bloody hell. Was John going to be there? That was the last thing Charles needed.

 

Ten minutes into the panicking had the Brit sitting in a corner with his dogs surrounding him. Ten minutes later had him cuddling up to his dogs and trying to breath. And a few minutes after that had Charles finally breathing correctly. It was a horrible cycle that was left with most of Charles’s thoughts down in the slumps and thinking that people would hate him. They usually did for some reason. It was either hate or love, no inbetween.

 

About another half an hour later, Charles finally came out of the corner and got ready for the party. He could hear his phone going off, which was a little annoying, but he ignored it until he was fully dressed. It was never fun to hear the phone go off, especially when he was getting ready. It was just an annoyance that needed to be thrown in a closet. Maybe even down the toilet… Maybe. So, once he was ready, Charles checked the phone and noticed a bunch of texts from Alexander. Some sexual, but most asking where he was. He sent a reply about him being late for some bullshit reason before calling a taxi.

 

About fifteen minutes of waiting led to the texi honking outside and Charles picking up spado and stepping outside with keys, his wallet and phone, and the other two dogs following behind. He squirmed into the taxi, his dogs hopping in, and then he was off, over to Alexander’s house. And that was when it hit him. Of course John was going to be there. John and Alexander were practically attached at the hip.

 

An hour of slightly panicking while clinging to his dogs led Charles to paying the driver and looking at the large house that was Alexander’s home.

 

“The fuck I gotta do to live in digs like this,” he said, staring openly.

 

After the slight surprise, more than slight, Charles walked up to the door and knocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this felt rushed and pretty stale, but I am tired and a little cranky that my Star Wars keeps getting interrupted.


	5. Chapter 4 - Party begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long to get out. I have been busy with family stuff over the holidays. Uuugh. Things should be back to a once a day schedule though! Enjoy! Happy holidays and a special shout out to the peep that has commented through thick and thin! Yui_Cheshire!

It was about a minute of waiting outside before the door opened, but… on the other side was a face that Charles was hoping he could put off seeing for a while. John Laurens. Both men sort of stood there, staring at each other, neither knowing what to say to the other for a while. Just… standing there.

 

After what felt like hours of awkward staring, John opened his mouth, blubbering about with his words as he tried to form a coherent sentence.

 

“Charles! I uh— you look— About high school— I’m— Fucking hell I’m sorry about what happened in high school I was a dumb kid and you didn’t deserve that,” John finally got out in a heap of rushed words.

Charles smiled a little before rubbing the back of his neck. “We were both dumb kids. I forgive ya though,” he said, putting his hand down.

“That’s good. This party would a been really awkward if you didn’t. Merry Christmas by the way.”   
“Merry Christmas?” Charles was clearly confused by this.   
“Yeah, Merry Christmas.”   
“But isn’t Christmas—”   
“Today,” John interrupted with a smirk playing on his lips.

“Today!?” Charles cried out, eyes bugged and mouth gaping.   
“Oh my fuck! This is precious! Come in, I gotta tell these fuckers that you forgot about Christmas!” And with that said, John walked inside calling out to everyone else. “Guys! Charles forget when Christmas was!”   
“I didn’t forget,” Charles muttered as him and the dogs stepped inside. “I just didn’t care.” He then removed his jacket and hung it up on the hook, looking at all the other jackets that were there. Quite a bit of people.

 

Charles stood there for a moment, listening to everyone past the foyer bickering and chatting, cheering and being joyous. Did he really belong in this setting? He was a pretty shitty person, and he knew it. So, why was he even here? He would just be a party wrecker. The person with the bad humor. The—

 

A bark from each of his dogs had Charles coming out of his self loathing and smiling to his dogs. He was glad they were in his life. But, the sound of something small pulled his attention from his dogs and to the doorway of the foyer. There were also the sounds of people walking over, but he was more curious about the little pitter patter. Until he was a tiny girl, wobbling over. She had to be about two, with the way she wobbled and gurgled. Charles could not help but to grimace at the sight, before a familiar head popped in and picked the child up.

 

“You brought dogs?” Aaron Burr asked, staring at Charles. “How very like you.”   
The sight of the man brought a smile to Charles’s face, allowing him to ignore the child. “Better than your ass bringing cigars to school and getting suspended.”   
“Language,” a woman, that Charles did not recognize, said.

“Sorry,” Charles muttered, feeling a sudden meekness. He was just scolded by a stranger! He would bark something rude, but this woman seemed close to Aaron, especially when she kissed the man’s cheek.

“Charles, this is my wife and soulmate, Theodosia, and this is our babe, Theo Jr," Aaron said with a proud look on his face. He never had something to be prideful about, so this was something strange.

“Hi,” Charles said with a wave of his hands. His dogs could sense the sudden need to leave, so they nudged him, trying to get pets and calm him down.

“Don’t stand by the door forever, come join us,” the woman known as Theodosia said, before walking off, furthing into the house.   
“Take your time though.” Aaron smiled a little at Charles, knowing how the man struggled with anxiety at times. So, he took the little girl back towards the hustle and bustle of the house, letting Charles stand there, trying to get comfortable.

  
  


After what felt like a year, Charles walked further into the house, his dogs following him. The home was very warm and certainly homely. It felt sort of nice, but sickening at the same time. This was something that Charles wanted for himself. To feel at home and loved, not the feeling of an emptiness that would never be filled.

 

A slight depression started to set in, making Charles feel like throwing up and going home right then and there. He did not think he could deal with being there in that moment and felt like he should have taken an extra dose of his meds that morning. At least then he could fight the depression better, even if it would be bad for his mind.

 

When he finally got to the area that held people, the first thing he saw was Alexander and Thomas arguing. Why was Thomas Jefferson here? Charles knew the two men disliked each other. They were always arguing in school. So this? What a sight.

 

“What a sight, right? Thomas in Alexander’s house.”

 

The sudden voice had Charles stiffening up and turning to look at who spoke. It was a short man with short hair, but a recognizable man.   
  
“James, wow, you really didn’t grow,” Charles said, staring down at the man.

“At least I didn’t run away after one little fight,” the small man bit back before walking off to Thomas.

 

Charles was rather stunned by what had just happened. He could remember how James and Thomas were usually reserved. But this? Wow. This sure as hell was something. After the moment of stunned surprise, and watching James pull Thomas away from the argument, Charles took a step to go after the small man and argue. Well, he would have, had a pair of arms not wrapped themselves around him.   
  
“Charlie! Mon ami! It is wonderful to see you, oui! I ‘ave not seen you in so long, It feels like many many years,” a very familiar accent rang out.

Charles could not help but to smile and stare down at the arms around him before looking up at the tall French face. “Gilbert de Frenchie, nice to see you.”   
“Zat nickname is a terrible one. You need to stop calling me zat. It is, ‘ow you say, despicable.”   
“What’s despicable is how your accent is so fucking thick even after so many years in America,” Charles laughed out.

“I will show you despicable.” And with that, Lafayette started messing up Charles’s hair.

“Gil! NO!! I need party hair! Not sex hair!”   
“You get what I give you.”   
“Which is sex hair?” A deep voice, none other than Hercules, said as he walked over to the two goofing off.   
“Oh, oui!” Lafayette chirped out with a smug look, but he stopped his assault and released the shorter man.

 

Charles let out a long sigh as he began fixing his hair, trying to get everything in place. That was when a call for dinner being ready rang out and everyone started making their way to the dining room. Charles followed behind everyone, feeling a little unsure of himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there was that.~ Goof-ball Laf, sassy Mads, and even a friendly Burr! See y'all next time!


	6. Chapter 5 - Dinner and the truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been gone for like ever. Stuff happened and stuff, but I'm back! And i have more to show. An extra page and a half long of a chapter!!

__

Once everyone was at the table, Charles began to walk over, feeling a little odd and like an intruder. But, a call out for Charles to join John had him walked to the freckled man and sitting down, staring at the people around him. It was very odd for him to sit there with the rest of the people. He felt like he did not belong, everyone was just around, chattering and having fun, while he sat there, watching them.

 

“So how have you been?” a voice asked from next to Charles.

 

Looking over relieved. the voice to be John’s. It felt odd sitting next to the man that had caused him to be pulled out of school so long ago.

 

“I’ve been fine,” Charles said simply, as if that explained everything.

 

In fact, Charles had not been doing fine. He had been doing fairly bad. His mental health being one issue, the main issue, and keeping a job being another. John took the answer anyway, completely fine with it and not minding that it could have been an utter lie, which it had been.

 

But man! Charles had changed so much. His hair was far different from high school, his body was… something, and his eyes seemed to be more beautiful. Whoa! Hold it! Wait a moment! John’s thoughts got ahead of him as things played out in his head. He had time to actually look at Charles and see what the man looked like now, so this was all hitting him at once.   


  
Charles, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on inside John’s head. But, if his thoughts were anything like the other’s, it would be following the same line of “damn, that boy has a body!” That was not his thinking though. His mind was more on what his soulmate was doing at that moment. What could John be doing. If only he knew. If only there was some way to check his arm without seeming rude. Well, he could go to the bathroom.

 

Charles’s mind seemed to wander, taking him away from the moment and to places he loved to imagine. Being in sunny Florida, on a beach, his soulmate with him as they sunbathed and ignored the rest of the world. Or maybe they would stay inside, watching horror movies and taking bets on who would die first. Both seemed like wonderful options, but such dreams were so far away. Off in a distant land where he could not reach.   


  
“Charles?” John piped up, wondering what Charles could have been thinking about.   
“Yeah?” Charles asked, coming out of his daze.   
“What’re you thinking about?” It was clear that John was curious, as there was a look of amusement on his face.   
“Soulmates,” Charles said bluntly.   
“Oh really?” Came a voice from over the table. James Madison had seemed to be listening in, and a look that only an asshole had when they thought about doing something completely douchy came across his face. “Thinking about the fact that everyone at this table has one except for you two? Are you getting lonely?”   
That had Charles’s eye twitching. What did James just say? Oh, the man did not think he could just get under Charles’s skin and come out unscathed.   
“Oh no, we’re thinking about how you’ve got su~~uch a weak soulmate. I mean really, Thomas Jefferson? The only thing he can stand up against is a leaf, and half the time he falls down. The other half of the time you’re the one falling.”

  
Everyone was surprised with who had piped up with that. John, sassing the hell out of James for the way the man just butted into a conversation he had no right coming into. Soon enough, Alexander was standing up from his chair, clapping and whooping loudly.   


  
“That’s my ho!” Alexander called out.   
“Alexander!” Eliza was not at all amused with the display that was going on. Her guests were throwing insults at each other and her husband was rooting for it all.   
Thomas leaned over to James to whisper something, clearly not liking the interaction that was going on. James simply patted Thomas’s thigh before looking to the group.   
“If you’ll excuse us,” James said, standing up and leading Thomas away from the table.   


  
Charles watched them go, wondering what their problem was. However, he did not bother asking. Instead he leaned back in his chair and looked at the food on the table. He was beginning to wonder about how he was supposed to stay out of trouble if the people around him were going to be dicks. It would only be a matter of time before his mouth acted up and he ended up getting kicked right out of this lovely home. Yes, what a lovely home, so much better than the apartment he lived in. He was actually a little jealous of Alexander for such a lovely home. Though, that jealousy was kept hidden, he did not need such darkness at a happy occasion.

 

The next hour seemed to pass quickly. The dogs sat under the table, eating scraps that were given to them and ignoring their dog food. It was not very healthy, but Charles did not mind his dogs getting ham. Poultry on the other hand was always a no. Spado was allergic to poultry. The humans at the party seemed to laugh and enjoy their time. During that hour Thomas and James came back to the table. The two having lightened up from their moment. From then on jokes were passed around, insults were thrown half heartedly, hand people slowly stopped eating. By the end, everyone was sitting at the table just relaxing and chatting.   


 

The first to leave the party was the Burrs. Their daughter had fallen asleep after dinner and they needed to get her hope and tucked into bed. Then it was Thomas and James to leave. For being rather rude during the party, they had a fun time, and Alexander had seemed to actually enjoy their presence. Charles wasn’t sure if he enjoyed it or not. Gilbert and Hercules were the next to leave. That left John and Charles the two odd ones left. They had started helping with the dishes and cleaning up, Charles’s dogs following his every move. It felt so domestic. If only Charles could do such things with his soulmate.

 

“So when are you going home?” John asked, standing beside Charles and drying the dishes that Charles washed.

 

The sudden question had Charles looking over with a confused expression. When was he going home. Hell if he knew. He rather liked it there. It was warm and comfortable. Better than his family home had ever been. But he could not stay there forever. That would just be weird. With a long sigh, Charles answered.

 

“I should probably go home after the dishes.” Sad but true, he did not belong in such a wonderful, warm home.

“Need a ride?” John had asked, looking over to see how many dishes were left. It was not a lot.

With a moment of thought, Charles decided that a ride would be nice. Cheaper than an uber too. “Yeah, I could use a lift.”

“Alright, man. Better hurry up with those dishes then.” With that said, John twisted the towel and whipped Charles’s ass in a playful manner.

 

The two worked on the dishes, finishing up in about fifteen minutes. It was an easy task. During that time Elizabeth excused herself to bed, since her back was hurting and her body was exhausted. Alexander helped his wife to bed before he came back to put what was dry away. Once it was all done, Alexander escorted the two to the door, hugging John and patting Charles’s shoulder.

 

“Have a safe ride you two,” Alexander said with a smile.

“Watch over my wife,” John joked with a smirk, which had Alexander chuckling.

 

With one last goodbye, John, Charles, and the dogs were out the door and off to John’s car. What a car it was. A red 2018 Lincoln navigator. It was a beautiful SUV. How John got the money to pay for such a car was beyond Charles. Probably had a daddy or something. They never really got to talking about their work lives. It was something that Elizabeth had made clear while everyone was eating.

 

After letting the dogs go to the bathroom in the snow, they all piled into the SUV. Charles sat up front while John drove and the dogs filled the back. For a while the only sound in the car was the sound of the gps saying which turns to take and how many miles before a turn. It was not a comfortable silence. Charles felt almost like he was suffocating.

 

“So,” Charles finally started, “have any clue who your soulmate might be?”

“Nope. Why’re you interested?” John answered, glancing at Charles for a moment from the corner of his eye.

“Just am,” was Charles’s nonchalant answer.

“Someone sounds lonely,” John teased with a bit of a smirk. “Can’t blame you though, I’d love to meet my soulmate.”

“Yeah, it is fucking lonely. I just wanna get done with the fucking waiting.” Charles sounded rather annoyed as he spoke. He wanted to meet his soulmate. To have someone to love, to live with, to share his days. His soulmate knew so much about him, and he knew so much about his soulmate. So why could they not have just met already? It was frustrating.

“So what’s your soulmate like? You write to them, right?” John asked, curiosity clear in his voice.

With a soft smile, Charles answered. “He likes to draw. Name’s John.”

 

John was clearly curious about this soulmate. John and likes to draw. Just a coincidence. Though… His soulmate was named Charles, and he had a lot of dogs…. No no no, nothing of the like. They were both smart men, they could put two and two together, but to actually admit that the other might be their soulmate? HAH. Not likely. Charles stared at John for a moment. During that moment they arrived at Charles’s apartment.

 

“Take a picture why don’t ya,” John huffed out before unlocking the door. “Time to get those hooligans outta my SUV.”

Just a coincidence. “Yeah, thanks for the ride.”

 

With that said, Charles got out, then opened the back door to let his dogs out. They stayed by Charles’s side like obedient dogs. Closing the door he started to leave, but that was when he heard a window rolling down and John calling him back. So Charles went over, clearly curious as to what John wanted.   
  
“My number. Maybe we can hang out sometime,” John stated, leaning over in his seat to reach over the passenger seat to pass something through the window.

“Thanks,” Charles murmured, taking a card from John’s hand.

 

As he inspected it, John rolled up the window and drove off. The card looked like a business card for a doctor. Actually… that was exactly what it was. On the back was another number, probably John’s cell. Hm, so John was a doctor. That was interesting. Stuffing the card into his pocket, Charles went inside, his dogs at his heels.

 

Once inside Charles disrobed, needing to get himself ready for bed. Christmas was pretty great for once. It was a wonder how he ever survived it until now. With his clothes off and only in boxers, Charles went to bed, marker in hand.

 

‘John?’

 

…

 

No answer.

 

About half an hour later, while Charles was dozing off, he felt tingling on his arm.

 

‘Yeah, Lee?’   
  
Lee? How did his soulmate know?

 

‘How do y—’

‘It’s Laurens’

 

Charles stopped. There was no way it could be Laurens. This was a joke. Sure, signs may have pointed to that, but it was all coincidence. Nothing was solid. Charles did not answer. How could he? Instead he stayed awake all night, trying to figure things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Juicy.~ Right?? Did you see that coming? I sure didn't! It felt a little rushed though. What did you guys think??


End file.
